Ali Awan was born to an immigrant father and first-generation mother just outside of Philadelphia spending most of his early life in transit. That upbringing coupled with a love for sound and expression made a life in music second nature. After his debut release “Citadel Blues”, an eastern cityscape of sampled drums, field recordings, & instrumentation dubbed  “ferocious” by WBEZ’s Sound Opinions host and Chicago Tribune writer Jim DeRogatis, Awan formed an alternating live band and has been writing, touring, and recording under his name ever since. To date, he has shared stages with the likes of Natalie Prass, Low Cut Connie, Cherry Glazerr, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Ex Hex, Vacationer, and many more. Awan’s new EP “Moon Mode” is a six song summation of his emotional state over the past 12 months, and ranges from reverb drenched swamp songs to dreamy synth meditations. The EP’s title track will be available April 9th, 2021 and the entire “Moon Mode” EP will be available June 11th, 2021 via Born Losers Records.

Essie (Sarah Riddle) is a WV native who moved to NJ to pursue her graduate studies in opera at Westminster Choir College. While there she began singing and song-writing with a local band soon forming Essie & the Big Chill. They played various local venues in the Central Jersey area gaining a reputation for being an incredibly fun and energetic cover band. As Essie wanted to continue to song-write and explore her own sound she left the Big Chill to pursue a solo career. 

She has been fortunate to sing in the Invitational house band at John & Peter's fronted by Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) and featuring incredible musicians such as Michael Hampton (Kidd Funkadelic). Other notable performance venues include performing with Remember Jones at Brooklyn Bowl, and House of Independent's. She has also had the privilege of joining Jah People at venues like Ardmore Music Hall, and Brooklyn Bowl. 

Classically Essie has been fortunate to share the stage at Carnegie Hall with the Berlin Philharmonic for Beethoven's 9th Symphony under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. She also has performed under Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center for multiple works, as well as several performances with the New Jersey State Orchestra. Over the years she has been recognized for several awards including the Hobson Award for Vocal Excellence and first place in both the Eloise-Campbell Long Competition, and WV NATS competition.

Booking inquiries: Info@MichaelWHampton.com

CapnOfCrunch is following